« All Events

Chuck Klosterman

The Football Phenomenon

Date:
Wed Feb 4, 2026
Time:
7:30 pm PST
Cost:
$10 – $35 + Optional Book Add-on
Additional fees may apply. Learn more about our ticketing model here.
Get Tickets

Venue

The Wyncote NW Forum
1119 8th Ave (Entrance off Seneca St.)
Seattle, 98101 United States + Google Map

Event Format

In-Person

EVENT NOTES
Doors for this event will open at 6:30 PM. Town Hall events are approximately 75 minutes long.

Book cover for "Football" by Chuck Klosterman. The cover is made of dark red fabric with a gold border and the title engraved in gold at the top. A gold illustration of two football players are featured underneath. One player is running with the ball, while the other appears to be in a defensive stance.
Buy the Book

Football

Elliott Bay Book Company

Buy Book
Headshot of Chuck Klosterman (with short blonde hair, beard, eyeglasses, and white button-down)
Arts & Culture

For many Americans, football is more than just a sport — it is a way of life. Year after year, it remains the most watched sport in the country, captivating millions every season. A recent study showed that 93 of the 100 most-watched programs on U.S. television were NFL football games. Football, whether we like it or not, is inescapable.

Chuck Klosterman, New York Times bestselling author, journalist, and critic, will visit Town Hall before the start of Super Bowl Weekend to discuss his newest book, Football.

Here, Klosterman dissects the question of natural greatness, looks at football through various lenses such as gambling and war, explores the caricature of the uncompromising head coach, ponders the morality of necessary risk, and posits hypotheticals in which certain celebrities chose football over other fields.

Football explains the sport as not only a cultural phenomenon but as a “hyperobject” — an entity so large in scale that it is able to defy human perception and understanding. Klosterman seeks both to enlighten and amuse as he offers examples of how football is woven into our collective identity. Whether you are a diehard fan or a more passive viewer, Klosterman’s latest work goes beyond football as just an athletic competition.

Read More

Chuck Klosterman is the bestselling author of nine nonfiction books, two novels, and a short story collection. He has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, GQ (London), Esquire, Spin, The Guardian (London), The Believer, and ESPN. Klosterman served as the Ethicist for The New York Times Magazine for three years and was an original founder of the website Grantland with Bill Simmons. He was raised in rural North Dakota and now lives in Portland, Oregon.

Presented by Town Hall Seattle.

Events are offered for informational, entertainment, and educational purposes only. Read Town Hall’s Program Content Policy.

Upcoming Events

Today
See All Events